How to Prepare Your Network for Cutting the Cord

Strong Wi-Fi Expands Your Entertainment to Every Corner of Your Home

With almost every major broadcaster and media company now boasting their own streaming network, the urge to cut the cord is stronger than ever. Whether you want to dive deep into the Star Wars or Marvel universes on Disney Plus or watch the latest prestige show on HBO GO, the possibilities are practically endless. While sign-up to these services is super easy, you need to ensure your home is prepared to transform to a fully streaming environment.

We don’t want watching your movies or shows to be as big a headache as it might be to cancel that cable subscription. In this blog, we highlight common pitfalls of cutting the cord and showcase home networking solutions that will foster the perfect viewing environment in your Baton Rouge, LA home.

SEE MORE: How to Boost Your Home’s Wi-Fi Signal

Buffering Video or Apps That Won’t Load

The most common complaint from new cord-cutters is that video keeps buffering or many apps themselves won’t load. Their first instinct is to blame either the app or the streaming stick/device in question. Though there are certainly differences in quality among apps and streaming devices, the network is usually the culprit.  

Home networks designed for browsing and limited connected devices are not prepared to handle the AV signals from streaming services. Having low-quality signals will not only cause familiar buffering problems, but if it gets bad enough, it'll keep these streaming apps from opening altogether.  

As you prepare to cut the cord, the first thing you want to do is reach out to your internet provider. Ask what your service speed is currently and get it upgraded if it is not enough. A good benchmark is to have a speed of at least 100 Mbps to stream 4K content.

Subpar or Inconsistent Video Quality

In most cases, increasing your internet speed will resolve the more egregious problems like lagging and non-functioning apps. You may still struggle with the video quality, especially with 4K video. Suppose your streaming device realizes you don't have enough capacity for a 4K signal. In that case, it'll often downgrade it to high or standard definition so you can keep watching without any lagging.

Ensuring you get full 4K HDR quality every time will require an equipment upgrade. Equipment provided by your internet service provider may not be powerful enough to deal with these higher bandwidths. Enterprise-grade routers from our manufacturing partners are specially designed to deal with them. Expand your bandwidth to allow more traffic and easily prioritize the flow of AV signals when watching your favorite streaming services.

Limited Streaming Access Throughout the House

Lastly, a common issue when streaming is the reach of your Wi-Fi network. Losing signal power as you move away from your router is bad for most network-dependent tasks, but with streaming, it makes watching your favorite content impossible. Limiting your streaming to a media room near your primary router isn’t an acceptable solution.

For years, we've heard one of the biggest benefits of cutting the cord is watching your content anywhere, anytime. But what if you have a two or three-story house or want to enjoy streaming content on your outdoor TV? With strategically placed routers, switches and wireless access points, you get even Wi-Fi coverage throughout your house. Watch your movies and TV shows in full 4K quality from all your high-end projectors or displays, no matter where they're located.

Do you want to seamlessly cut the cord and take advantage of the wide world of streaming? Don’t hesitate to reach out to our team of AV and networking experts for a solution tailored to your home. Give us a call, fill out our contact form or chat with us below to get started.